One of the fastest growing trends in the trading and investment world is online stock trading. The ever increasing speeds of internet connections and personal computers make trading online a breeze.

Access to information – One of the nicest things about online trading is that you have instant access to market information that you can get from just about anywhere in the world…as long as there’s an internet connection available.

You can grab quotes, pull up charts of your favorite markets, and much more. One of my favorite features is to be able to see my account balance in real-time. If you have positions on at the time you can also see your position profit or loss in real-time. This allows you to know where you stand at a glance. Use this feature sparingly as it’s easy to get addicted to watching these changes on your computer screen.

Parked Orders – This is another feature that you’ll fall in love with. With many online trading platforms you are able to “park” orders. This simply means that you can store orders within your online trading platform for future use.

Simulated Trading – Many online trading platforms have the ability to allow you to “simulate” real trading. This means you can enter and exit orders without any money being at risk. In my humble opinion this is an absolutely tremendous feature. Many people also refer to this as a practice account. It’s sort of like driving around on an empty parking lot on a Sunday when you have your learner’s permit. It gives you an opportunity to familiarize yourself with and master the basics before you go out onto a busy street.

One thing to keep in mind while doing your simulated trading is to make it as realistic as possible in order to get a feel for real trading. In other words don’t overtrade just because you can’t lose money at this stage. Trade as if the money in the simulated account were real.